Members of the Mesa County Sheriff's Office, along with partnering local law enforcement agencies, were presented with the Excellence in Auto Theft Prevention Award by the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority (CATPA) on Thursday in Denver.

The award recognizes the group's exceptional performance and participation in the Beat Auto Theft Through Law Enforcement (BATTLE) Western Region's success in driving down motor vehicle theft by 25% in 2022.  BATTLE West's operational efforts have reduced motor vehicle thefts throughout the region and impacted related crimes.  Through these BATTLE operations, participating agencies focus not just on locating and arresting motor vehicle theft offenders, especially prolific offenders, but also target major criminal offenders in the area. This included significant seizures of illegal drugs and weapons and the apprehension of a significant number of felony suspects, including those involved in violent crimes.

The BATTLE West task force has combined the resources of multiple law enforcement agencies to form a task force that has completely transformed the way these operations are run.  The group is comprised of multiagency partnerships, including the Mesa County Sheriff's Office, Colorado State Patrol, Grand Junction Police Department, Montrose Police Department, Montrose County Sheriff's Office, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, US Drug Enforcement Administration, and US Homeland Security Investigations.

The nomination submitted to the CATPA Board read: "The BATTLE West Regional Team's efforts have brought great credit to their agencies and the region but to the BATTLE and CATPA programs as a whole.  They are not only great representatives of what BATTLE is about, but they have become a model for other task forces to emulate.  The BATTLE West Regional Team has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate an extraordinary level of commitment, service, performance, and contribution to enhancing the interdiction and enforcement of auto theft crimes within our Colorado and Western Regional communities".

Their dedication and perseverance have made a profound difference.  Congratulations to the BATTLE West team for being recognized with this prestigious award.